There Go Your Rights: 2014 Was A Shit Year for Copyright Laws, Privacy, and Net Neutrality

When grouped together, the words “copyright laws” and “music” immediately plunge everyone but record label executives into what Douglas Adams refers to as “the long, dark teatime of the soul.” It’s a sad, sad place and in 2014, we spent more time there than ever. From overreaching copyright enforcement and small businesses left in the dust to Net Neutrality woes and privacy concerns, here’s what went wrong when corporations set out to police the Internet last year.

It’s hard to talk about the shortcomings in copyright enforcement without bringing up SoundCloud. Though the company saw its greatest growth ever, it wasn’t without a few hiccups. Popular mp3 blog ThisSongIsSick had their account removed for posting tracks they had permission to use, Kaskade had his own music taken down, and many, many DJs learned that uploading mixes to the music-sharing platform was now next to impossible. It got so bad that some young entrepreneurs came up with FrownCloud, an innovative music-sharing platform that combats copyright issues by not letting you upload anything at all. Or maybe that was just TMP. You can’t really blame SoundCloud for all of this though: without the immense pressure from major record labels, they wouldn’t have to employ just about every means possible to avoid getting sued into oblivion. Here’s hoping their recent deal with WMG will smooth things over, though all indications are that Universal isn’t as eager to play ball.

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Where SoundCloud over-polices copyright infringers, we learned this year how smaller copyright holders struggle with YouTube’s under-policing. Major record labels and film studios have special arrangements with the world’s most popular video service, but everyone else? They’re left fending for themselves.

Pioneering sample-based musician Girl Talk had just as much as we did to say about copyright laws and intellectual property when we sat down with him in October. Though he’s had a tough time defending his use of appropriating music from established artists, he told us his signature style isn’t going anywhere.

Pioneer’s controversial song-tracking technology, KUVO, brought the complicated issue of music publishing to public attention by bringing up striking privacy concerns. When we asked publishing expert Rachel Graham to fill us in about the ins and outs of the business, we were blown away by everything she shared.

And who could forget when Disney threatened Deadmau5 with legal action over his iconic Mau5 head. “Disney thinks you might confuse an established electronic musician / performer with a cartoon mouse. That’s how stupid they think you are,” Deadmau5 tweeted in frustration. If you learned that a multi-national corporation was coming after your brand that had existed for over a decade, you’d be pissed too.

Along with the release of their 18th compilation, independent Vancouver label Monstercat released a copyright law-bashing “Monstercat Manifesto.” In it, they lament how Canada’s restrictive laws and the fear of lawsuits directly inhibits creative freedoms of artists, and called for realistic changes.

Then, when Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT), a vocal defender of Net Neutrality, asked American ISPs to commit not to engage in creating Internet “fast lanes,” they dodged the question. Ultimately, the decision will be voted on by the FCC on February 2; Obama has endorsed Net Neutrality, but with the FCC’s close ties to telecoms, the verdict could go either way.

Photo via Deviant Art

Even file-sharing heavyweight The Pirate Bay wasn’t able to escape retribution this year. Following a prompt by Rights Alliance, Swedish authorities raided the site’s servers and brought it and its affiliates down.

Copyright laws in almost every country are designed to protect people who create—artists—and that’s a good thing. But when old laws combine with old people who enforce them, somehow new technology and young fans get caught in the crosshairs or just left in the cold. Hopefully 2015 can start to turn the tide.